Jon Jones confident he would submit Alex Pereira ‘pretty quickly’ in MMA, beat Daniel Cormier in wrestling

Jon Jones has expressed confidence that he would quickly submit Alex Pereira if the two ever fought in mixed martial arts, while also backing himself to defeat longtime rival Daniel Cormier in a pure wrestling match.

Jones had campaigned for a heavyweight clash with Pereira but failed to reach a deal with the UFC. Instead, Pereira faced Ciryl Gane for the interim heavyweight title on June 14 at UFC White House, losing via second-round knockout. In an interview with ALF Global recorded before that bout, Jones outlined why he views Pereira as a stylistically favorable opponent. "I watched Pereira train," Jones said. "I see his level of wrestling and it's way behind." He noted that while heavyweights like Stipe Miocic and Gane are imposing physical specimens, Pereira—who weighed 251 pounds for the Gane fight—lacks the same size advantage. "I feel as if my physical strength would have been too much for him. I felt as if the moment I would have gotten him to the ground, my submissions would have come pretty quickly."

Jones emphasized that despite his confidence in a hypothetical matchup, he remains a fan of Pereira and wishes him well. On the wrestling front, Jones was asked about a potential non-MMA grappling contest with Cormier, his rival from two UFC fights. Cormier had publicly claimed he could "kick his ass" in wrestling and alleged Jones refused a seven-figure offer for a six-minute match. Jones disagreed with that assessment. "I think I would have beat DC in a wrestling match," he said, adding that while it wouldn't be easy, he would target Cormier's known back problems through hand-fighting and attrition rather than aggressive takedown attempts. "Just hand fight, hand fight, hand fight, and see if I could wear on that back," Jones explained.